bryan wann :: binary fury

I picked up a couple of “widebody” USR Courier HST modems and have been working through documenting power adapters for them and sorting out what goes with what. I figured out almost all Courier and HST models have different power supplies and voltage requirements. I’ve been tracking down manuals and cross-referencing the FCC IDs in the manuals vs what’s on the modem label to tell what goes with what.

USR was certainly fond of using DIN power connectors back then, different orientations, different sizes, and different voltages. This page will likely change over time as I figure out more.

[my HST 14400 pinout below]

US ROBOTICS HST

These seem to have come out in 1986-1987, one of the first “widebody” HST modems. These have what I’m referring to the “black/green manual (vtda.org)”

• “widebody”
• FCC ID CJE794FAST, FCC REG CJE794-11323-DM-E
• Modem chassis P/N 1.014.299 Rev B
• S/N starts with 0061-xxxxxxxx
• DIN 5-pin female power connector
• Manual: “US Robotics Courier HST Modem  User’s Manual”
• Power Adapter (from manual): Supply voltage: 115 VAC, 60 Hz, 16 VAC Output

I don’t have one of these so I don’t know the exact pinout of the DIN connector yet

COURIER HST (14.4k HST)

This is the pair I have, one appears to have come out in 1988 and the other in 1989. I have recently scanned this manual and calling it the “black/red manual (archive.org)”

• “widebody”, may have also been branded “COURIER HST dual standard” on the front?
• Supports standard V.32 modulation, and 14.4k with HST
• FCC ID: CJE794-0093, FCC REG CJE794-2748-MD-E
• Modem chassis P/N 1.014.263 Rev B (1988 version), P/N 1.014.323 Rev A (1989 version)
• DIN 5-pin male power connector, use MAK 50S
• Manual: “US Robotics Courier High Speed Modems  User’s Manual” 1.015.282
• Power Adapter (from manual): Supply voltage: 120 VAC RMS +/- 10%, 60 Hz, + 5 VDC @ 750 MA, +/- 12 VDC @ 200 MA

So this one is tri-voltage and not just AC in. I have worked out the pinout for this and will show below.

COURIER HST dual standard with V.32 bis and ASL (16.8k HST)

I believe this is the last “widebody” but not sure, or the manual covers both “widebody” and “narrowbody” models. Only seen one photo, don’t have FCC ID or anything else

• maybe: “widebody”
• maybe: natively support standard V.32 bis / 14.4k, and first to support 16.8k with HST
• maybe FCC ID: CJE-0151-147, FCC REG CJEUSA-73130-FA-E
• maybe Manual “US Robotics Courier High Speed Modems  User’s Manual” (1992) 1.015.544
• Power Adapter info not listed in manual

COURIER HST Dual Standard with Fax and ASL (16.8k HST ?)

• “narrowbody”, 1993
• FCC ID: CJE-0151-234, FCC REG CJEUSA-73130-FA-E   (shares same registration as the widebody HST DS, but different FCC ID?)
• Modem chassis P/N 1.014.425-C
• Small DIN connector?

COURIER Dual Standard V.34 Fax with V.32 bis

This may still be HST capable but doesn’t carry HST branding anymore?

• “narrowbody”
• maybe FCC ID: CJE-0263, FCC REG CJEUSA-73130-FA-E
• maybe P/N 1.020.091-B

---

My Courier HST power pinout

For what I’m calling the “second generation” widebody, FCC ID CJE794-0093, model 0093, with 14.4k HST. I used the voltages from the manual and then probed the voltages at the 1488 and 1489 serial chips to work out what was what, seems to be right. TIL the pin numbering of a DIN connector is all over the place, it’s not in order.

[4/16: See this follow-up post where I find a more suitable AC-DC power adapter]

Hirschmann MAK 50 S, female DIN 41 524  / 930172-317 connector

• Pin 1: GND
• Pin 2: GND
• Pin 3: 5 VDC
• Pin 4: -12 VDC
• Pin 5: 12 VDC

I didn’t have the factory power adapter nor something better that could provide 5 VDC, 12 VDC, and -12 VDC so I improvised from an ATX power supply using the 24-pin ATX and a drive molex connector to test.

Here blue is -12 VDC from the main ATX 24-pin connector; yellow is +12 VDC, red is +5 VDC, and black is ground from a drive Molex connector:

Firing it up to test:

Success!

Requisite action shot dialed up to the BBS:

Tags: modem